How did the All-Star Game come to be? Who came up with the idea of bringing the best players all together to play one game?

Chicago Tribune sportswriter Archibald Burdette Ward is credited with being the man who came up with the idea behind the All-Star Game. In 1933, the year of the Chicago Centennial, Chicago mayor Ed Kelly decided that he wanted a major sporting event to coincide with the World’s Fair, which was being held in Chicago that year. Ward came up with the idea of creating an All-Star Game, where each league’s best players, as voted by the fans, would compete in a mid-summer classic. After discussing the idea with the American and National League Presidents, it was decided that the first All-Star Game would be held on July 6, 1933, in Comiskey Park. It was originally intended to be a one-time occurrence, but it gained so much popularity that it was became an annual event.

Arch Ward died on July 9, 1955, at the age of 68, and was buried on the morning of the 22nd All-Star Game. The All-Star MVP award is named after him.